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The Way
The Way is a Velan sub-sect of the Church of Humanity, Repentant. It originates in thoughts and faiths now long lost to the people of Acheron Rho. It is believed to date back all the way to the Velan colony ship, either born there or perhaps linking back as far as old Earth. The followers of the Way believe that the nature of life is a journey. All are born with a Path to walk, and a Destination for their journey. But all too often, so the teachings say, we forget our Destination, and stray from our Path, and find suffering as a result. The followers of the Way believe that the way to overcome such mortal folly is by opening oneself to the help of the Divine, through its manifestation as the Guardian. With the momentous events of 3200, and the old House Vela having become the Velan Ascendancy, the Way has been quickly growing towards becoming one of Haqani’s major faiths. Most prominently, the former Velan Emperox, the Shining Star, choose to convert to the Way in a grand public ceremony. History “The Way is infinite, for it has a Path for all things.” - Great Rethinker İkbal Charron The Way originates in thoughts and faiths now long lost to the people of Acheron Rho. It is believed to date back all the way to the Velan colony ship, either born there or perhaps linking back as far as old Earth. It experienced a revival during the dark age that followed the Scream, as in an age of uncertainty and collapse, many people fell back on the oldest traditions for faith and hope that there were things that could endure even the end of everything else. When the Empire was reestablished and with it the influence of the High Church of Messiah-as-Emperox, the adherents of the Way split. The majority joined the High Church and found some way or other to harmonize the practices and rituals most important to them with the teachings and structures of the High Church. However, a minority who could not make the transition stuck to the old beliefs, in defiance of High Church teachings and hierarchy. For some, this was a belief in alien souls, for others simply a dislike for the High Church’s hierarchy, for a few nothing greater than personal conflicts with the local High Church priest could be the cause for their dissent. But no matter the reason, these dissenters continued to practice according to their own doctrines, in their own times, and by their own unlicensed diviners. A locus of the underground Way was the navigation colleges on Pharos. Because the teachings of the Way have always held special resonance with the navigators. Literally, as well as metaphorically, navigators are always going places and traveling throughout their life. For many Velans, belief in the Way offered them a sense of an uncorrupted link to the home and house of their birth. In time, the underground followers of the Way found a home in the Church of Humanity, Repentant. With the economic and social capital of the CHR supporting them, the followers of the Way were able to re-emerge from the shadows. Followers attending the colleges of Pharos grew bolder in organising gatherings and teaching the faith, while on Cabina the official Mugenjishi School for Ancient Divination was set up. There new, young and hopeful, generations of diviners of the Way are being taught and raised, far from the prying eyes or the disapproving glare of the High Church. With the momentous events of 3200, and the old House Vela having become the Velan Ascendency, the Way has been quickly growing towards becoming one of Haqani’s major faiths. Most prominently, the former Velan Emperox, the Shining Star, choose to convert to the Way in a grand public ceremony. Doctrines and Practices “The Divine is the beginning, and the Divine is the end. The cosmos is a circle, in which all things must follow the Way to return to their beginnings. All things are given a Path, and to follow that Path is peace. Thus are all things at peace. Except for sentient beings, who in their folly forget their Path, and in wandering aimlessly find not peace, but suffering. But the Eternal Guide, the Guardian of the Way, is there for us. The Guide finds those who are lost and illuminates our Path when we have grown too blind to see it. When we imprison ourselves with doors of our own creation, the Guardian hands us the keys to pass beyond. And at the end of our journey, when we have reached our Destination, the Guardian welcomes us back home, back to the Divine.” - Great Rethinker Naasim Mwangi The followers of the Way go by many names: Pathfinders, Wayfinders, Seekers, Exemplars. Similarly, the deity they worship has multiple names: The Guardian of the Way, the Eternal Guide, the Wandering Shepherd. At times, the name used is a meaningful choice based on context, at other times it simply reflects the personal tastes of the follower in question. The followers of the Way believe that the nature of life is a journey. All are born with a Path to walk, and a Destination for their journey. But all too often, so the teachings say, we forget our Destination, and stray from our Path, and find suffering as a result. The followers of the Way believe that the way to overcome such mortal folly is by opening oneself to the help of the Divine, through its manifestation as the Guardian. Every sentient being, and in truth all things, travel on the Way, watched over and protected by the Guardian. It is the duty of both the Guardian and of righteous followers of the Way to ensure that all paths and crossroads are safe and that all travelers can reach their Destination. All sentient beings are fellow travelers and therefore deserve respect. Respecting the traveler means respecting the Way. Everyone strays from their Path from time to time. It is the responsibility of both the Guardian and of righteous followers of the Way to lead travelers back to their Path and help them see where they went wrong. The Guardian The Guardian of the Way also addressed as the Eternal Guide, the Wandering Shepherd, and other similar names, is understood as a kind of aspect or manifestation of the Divine. It is a being that is sometimes represented by a young child, sometimes as an old person of undetermined gender. The Guardian represents the beginning and end of life and the opening and closing of paths in life. Ceremonies “O, Lord of All the Cosmic Paths, Eternal Guide and Tireless Guardian ever watching, to you this prayer is offered. From straying keep us guarded; to ways of truth restore us; Invoke your light to bless us, and point your staff to guide us.” - A basic Pathfinder’s prayer to the Guardian Every ceremony, in fact, every important aspect of life, starts with a prayer to the Guardian, because without their permission, the doors to communication with the Divine and with other sentient beings stay closed. Though all followers of the Way are able to do basic rituals invoking the Guardian, for more grand or formal ceremonies the rituals are performed by the trained and learned diviners. Diviners invoke the Guardian, and serve as conduits for the Divine’s wisdom. The most learned and respected of diviners are called oracles. There are many different rituals and invocations, which serve to call upon the Guardian in different forms emphasizing different aspects. For example, for those who are lost, rituals are performed calling upon the “Guardian who holds the Lamp” to light their way; for those who are getting married, invocations call upon the “Guardian who binds with Rope” to moor the newlyweds together; for those who are about to be born or die, rituals ask the “Guardian who holds the keys” to give their souls safe passage from and to the other world. Properly trained diviners are expected to know how to invoke all 256 major aspects of the Guardian on command. One common type ceremony is the divination ceremony. In the most common of these ceremonies, the diviner twice casts two four-sided die, one black and one white, onto the divination board. The diviner marks the results, and each of the 256 ( 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 ) results corresponds to the invocation of one of the 256 major aspects of the guardian. Category:The Church of Humanity, Repentant Category:CHR Sects or Religious Orders Category:The Velan Ascendancy Category:House Vela Category:Repentant Sects or Religious Orders